À bout de souffle (1960)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writers:

Jean-Luc Godard (screenplay)
François Truffaut (story)

Release Date:

7 February 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The film that was banned for 4 years. Why..? (original Finnish poster tagline)

Plot:

A young car thief kills a policeman and tries to persuade a girl to hide in Italy with him.

Plot Keywords:

Car | Policeman | Sociopath | Love | Journalism

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Michel Poiccard
Jean Seberg	...	Patricia Franchini
Daniel Boulanger	...	Police Inspector Vital
Jean-Pierre Melville	...	Parvulesco
Henri-Jacques Huet	...	Antonio Berrutti
Van Doude	...	Himself
Claude Mansard	...	Claudius Mansard
Jean-Luc Godard	...	An Informer
Richard Balducci	...	Tolmatchoff
Roger Hanin	...	Cal Zombach
Jean-Louis Richard	...	A Journalist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Liliane David	...	Liliane
Jean Domarchi	...	A Drunk
Jean Douchet	...	A Journalist
Raymond Huntley	...	A Journalist
André S. Labarthe	...	A journalist
François Moreuil	...	A journalist
Liliane Robin	...	Minouche
José Bénazéraf	...	(uncredited)
Philippe de Broca	...	A Journalist (uncredited)
Michel Fabre	...	Plainclothes Policeman (uncredited)
Louiguy	...	(uncredited)
Michel Mourlet	...	(uncredited)
Guido Orlando	...	(uncredited)
Madame Paul	...	(uncredited)
Raymond Ravanbaz	...	(uncredited)
Jacques Serguine	...	(uncredited)
Jacques Siclier	...	(uncredited)
Virginie Ullmann	...	(uncredited)
Emile Villion	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Jean-Luc Godard

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean-Luc Godard		screenplay
François Truffaut		story

Produced by
Georges de Beauregard	....	producer

Original Music by
Martial Solal

Cinematography by
Raoul Coutard

Film Editing by
Cécile Decugis
Lila Herman

Makeup Department
Phuong Maittret	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pierre Rissient	....	assistant director

Art Department
Clément Hurel	....	poster artist

Sound Department
Jacques Maumont	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Claude Beausoleil	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Lila Herman	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Claude Chabrol	....	technical advisor
Suzon Faye	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Les Productions Georges de Beauregard
• Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie (SNC)

Distributors

• Les Films Impéria (1960) (France) (theatrical)
• Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie (SNC) (1960) (France) (theatrical)
• Société nouvelle de cinématographie (SNC) (1960) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Films Around the World (I) (1961) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (2006) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Films Georges de Beauregard (1961) (France) (theatrical)
• Neue Visionen Filmverleih (2001) (Germany) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Optimum Releasing (2000) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• BBC Worldwide (1987) (UK) (TV)
• Connoisseur / Meridian Films (1989) (USA) (VHS) (subtitled)
• Connoisseur Video
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• Fox Lorber (2001) (USA) (DVD) (subtitled)
• Fox Lorber (2001) (USA) (VHS) (subtitled)
• Janus Films (1989) (USA) (all media)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Nothing's New Video (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• Optimum Releasing (2000) (UK) (DVD) (re-release)
• Optimum Releasing (2001) (UK) (DVD) (special edition)
• Optimum Releasing (2007) (UK) (DVD) (box set)
• Polyband (1992) (Germany) (VHS)
• Raro Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD) (boxed set)
• Raro Video (2007) (Italy) (DVD)
• Timeless Video (1994) (USA) (VHS) (subtitled)
• Wellspring Media (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Breathless (UK) (subtitle) (USA)
By a Tether (UK) (informal title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (1996) | Finland:K-16 (1964) | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:(Banned) (1960) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Unrated | West Germany:18 (bw) (nf) | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

11 rue Campagne Première, Paris 14, Paris, France

Company:

Les Productions Georges de Beauregard

Trivia:

Despite reports to the contrary, Jean-Luc Godard did not shoot the film without a script; however, he did not have a finished script at the beginning, instead writing scenes in the morning and filming them that day. See also Pierrot le fou (1965).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Michel Poiccard: After all, I'm an asshole. After all, yes, I've got to. I've got to!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in L'héritier (1973)

Ladies and Gentlemen, the 8th Wonder of the World: Jean-Luc Godard.

This is the one that started it all. With the story of a man on the run calling himself Laszlo Kovacs (a cinematographer of the time), Jean-Luc Godard arrived in the movies (well, on the production end, at least). This also more than his typical film essay. The story by Francois Truffaut makes for a terrific Godard script (the Truffaut stamp makes it comparable to SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER). Jean-Paul Belmondo does well in the Kovacs role, humanizing our bad-guy hero right up to the slam-bang finish. Jean Seberg is his conflicted lover who must... well, just watch. A landmark of the French New Wave, which is one of the most important movements in cinema. Vastly superior to the 1983 BREATHLESS with Richard Geer and Fassinder's homage THE AMERICAN SOLDIER. This is guaranteed to be like few movies you've seen before (unless, of course, you're a fan of the New Wave). BREATHLESS is also very memorable for its music and unusual photography. Shows how European film brought out the importance of character in film and raised it to new heights (whereas in American film, a close-up is the closest you'll get to character development). This is a must for any film student and for anyone who just loves movies.